AMO and SUSS MicroTec Collaborating in the Field of Nanoimprint on Development of UV-SCIL

(Nanowerk News) AMO GmbH, a private research service provider in
the field of nanofabrication, and SUSS MicroTec AG, a leading supplier of
equipment and process solutions for microstructuring in the
semiconductor industry and related markets, are working on the
development of applications for SCIL (Substrate Conformal Imprint
Lithography) with UV curing material.

SUSS MicroTec's SCIL imprint method for sub-50 nm structures optimizes
standard imprinting processes for wafers up to 6 inch area full-field
imprinting. High resolution nanoimprinting – so far limited to small wafer
sizes – can now be successfully applied to large substrates. Large-area soft
stamps with repeatable sub-50 nm printing capability do not cause any stamp
deformation or even damaging as no contact force is applied and soft,
flexible material is used. When used with UV curing materials SCIL is able to
combine a high resolution with a high throughput. SCIL can be used with a
large variety of well-known materials that are commonly used in UVnanoimprinting
processes.

AMO has provided two key components for this development: the master for
large-area nanostructures and the UV-curing nanoimprint material AMONIL.
The masters, with a size up to 6 inch, are fabricated at AMO by laser
interference lithography and plasma etching in Silicon. They have perfect
binary periodic patterns between 180 to 2.500 nm. These holographic
gratings are characterized by absolutely seamless patterns and a low defectdensity
on a large area, due to a special fabrication technology.

Left: Silicon Master; Right: Silicon Master with 2D-Hole Pattern

Hundreds of flexible stamps can be replicated from only one master. With
SCIL-technology the large-area stamp is brought into contact with the
AMONIL resist, which is thereafter cured with UV light. The resist material has
already been optimized by AMO for the implementation of Quartz- and soft
PDMS-stamps in conventional imprint processes. The imprint resist material is
distributed by AMO with a standard thickness from 100 to 800 nm. Due to the
unique sequential contacting and separation technology a distortion-free
replication of the stamp at high throughput is now possible with UV-SCIL.

By unifying the competences of each partner the UV-SCIL method from this
successful cooperation could be demonstrated on a large scale. AMO´s and
SUSS MicroTec´s customers are now offered the master, material and tool
process technology for application developments, such as in the field of
LED/VCSEL, diffractive and refractive optical elements, pattern magnetic
media or functional material as well as printed electronics or RFIDs.

About AMO

AMO, as a research company, realizes nanofabrication technologies for
applications in the field of information technology, biotechnology and
photonics. AMO´s services range from the development of lithography
technologies, such as UV-nanoimprint, to processing solutions as part of
feasibility studies and even to small batch production. Transfer of technology,
based on its own wide set process platform with CMOS-compatibility, also
belongs to AMO´s services.

About SUSS MicroTec

SUSS MicroTec, listed in Deutsche Börse AG's Prime Standard, is a leading
supplier of equipment and process solutions for microstructuring in the
semiconductor industry and related markets. In close cooperation with research
institutes and industry partners SUSS MicroTec is contributing to the advancement
of next-generation technologies such as 3D Integration and nanoimprint
lithography as well as key processes for MEMS and LED manufacturing. With a
global infrastructure for applications and service SUSS MicroTec supports more
than 8,000 installed systems worldwide. SUSS MicroTec is headquartered in
Garching near Munich, Germany. For more information, please visit
http://www.suss.com/scil